We were just kids back then, and everything seemed like a good idea. That is when my little brother gave me his nod of confidence, and off we went down the steep gravel hill. He on the handlebars of my old banana bike, and me paddling like a bat outta hell. We were doing great at first, but our success didn’t last long. The front tire of my bike hit a sharp rock and just like that, my brother seemed to vanish into thin air.
He didn’t exactly vanish, that would have been too painless a result. What he did do was fly off his perch, and land head first on a large rock.
Alarmed and worried at the same time, I rushed to the aid of my brother, who was seven years younger than I. I was supposed to be taking care of him, and I almost got him killed. I paid no attention to the possibility of my mom actually killing me when she found out what happened, instead I hurried to the rescue of my little brother, who was lying unconscious on the ground before me.
I held him in my arms, crying out loudly. A large blue bump began to form on his forehead, and blood streamed from a large cut on his arm. In all my fourteen years on this earth, I did not think for once that I could do anything so stupid, but then again, I was young, and good decisions were not usually among my strong points back then.
As I cried out, my brother came to, telling me to keep the noise down. He said that his head was paining, and all my crying was making it worse. I carried the little guy all the way back to the campsite where my parents were, praying that he was okay. He was lucky, as the doctor said the injuries were minor. My punishment however, was not minor. Grounded for the rest of the summer.
This is my entry into this weeks Trifecta Challenge. The word is Confidence
That’s a harsh lesson for the both of you. No fun at all.
Would it make you feel any better if i told you that I convinced my brother to do a similar thing on a friends bike. Neither of us could ride, but I would sit on the handlebars of a friends bike. I convinced my bro to do the same on another friends bike (a ten speed) and when the guy hit the brakes hard, my brother did a sommersault and face plant on the sidewalk. He came up looking like a victim of a horror film. I still feel bad 30+ years later.
I love the way you tell your stories. You hook me every time.
I’m sure that you would have traded your entire summer easily for his minor (not serious) injuries! Sorry that this happened, as I assume it was a real event.
yes, this happened. most of my writings are either true or closely based on truth
Ouch! Plus you’ve touched on one of my ancient bike riding fears!
Please tell me you and your brother tried it again at some point.
You know me too well. The next time, we altered our style by having little brother sit on the banana seat and steer while I sat behind him and pedaled. we made it to the bottom of the hill, where mom stood…I was always in trouble in some way or another.
Loved this one – My sisters and I had stitches several times, all due to this sort of thing. Brings back (painful) memories.
I have two sons, so I cringed at the steep gravel hill and the handlebars of the bike. I suspected it wouldn’t end well 🙂 I’m glad it had a fairly happy ending, in that he wasn’t seriously hurt…sorry about your lost summer though.
A moment of exhilaration paid for by being grounded for an entire summer, that’s the way it goes and you captured the ride brilliantly. 🙂
The ride, in concept, sounded like a blast but easy to imagine how it could go wrong pretty fast. Tough punishment. Thank goodness he was okay.
the funny thing is that today He is the risk taker and I am the cautious one
Yikes! As a fellow big sister (by 7 years, no less!) I can relate… so glad to know that your little brother survived your “bright idea” when you were a teenager, much like my little sister survived my hair-brained schemes! 😀 Oh, but it does suck that your whole 14th summer was spent grounded, UGH. Loved your take on the prompt!
Ouch. Didn’t we all try that at some point? Thankfully my younger brother was close enough in age that the blame usually got spread pretty evenly.
Holy cow I thought this was going to end up much more tragic than it did. Grounding is a lot better than what could have happened in that accident!
I was right with in that feeling of fear, of the fragility of life and that guilt that only comes from being responsible for another persons safety and well being. So glad he made it through.
Thanks for joining us this week. Come back tomorrow for the weekend prompt.
I was so scared for your brother. And for you. I’m so glad it ended well.